Many remote controls transmit commands to any number of different types of devices using infrared light. Televisions, media players, set-top boxes (including satellite and/or cable television receivers), audio/video components, climate controls and many other products are designed to respond to user commands provided via remote controls. Television viewers, for example, commonly use remote controls to adjust volume, to select programming, and/or to direct any number of other actions by their televisions or television receivers.
Remote controls typically encode commands issued by the user into infrared signals that are wirelessly transmitted to the controlled device. The controlled device receives and decodes the command encoded within the IR signal. This command can then be executed by the controlled device (e.g., to adjust volume, channel or other settings of a television).
Often, however, other sources of infrared light can interfere with the control signals produced by an infrared remote control. Certain types of flat panel television displays, for example, can produce spurious infrared light in the vicinity of the remote control or the receiver that can cause command signals to be lost or corrupted. Other sources of infrared light (e.g., lamps, heaters, fluorescent lights, etc.) can also produce noise that can interfere with infrared remote control signals in certain environments.
It is therefore desirable to improve the operation of infrared remote controls in environments where infrared noise is present. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.